Meanwhile, the 13-12 Green Wave are double-digit underdogs here despite actually being one game ahead of UAB in the conference standings, as Tulane is part of a four-team logjam tied for seventh at 5-5. Their defense is ranked fourth in Conference USA in effective field goal percentage against, which has us questioning if UAB will have the ability to score enough points here to merit such prohibitive favoritism.

However, this game may not be played to the Blazers’ liking as Tulane is only 304th in tempo rating and UAB does not apply enough defensive pressure to force the Green Wave to quicken things up, as the Blazers rank a dismal 345th out of 351 Division I teams in defensive turnover percentage at a measly 14.1 percent compared to a national average of 18.5 percent.

You see, Tulane is a respectable fifth in the conference in three-point shooting and the Green Wave can take advantage of a suspect UAB perimeter defense that is 14th in the 16-team conference in three-point defense.

Furthermore, Tulane is third in the conference and an impressive 17th in the country in FTA/FGA percentage, and that volume of foul shots can offset the fact that the Green Wave shoot 70.1 percent from the line, which is still above the national average (69.8 percent).

Thus, while it may not be pretty, Tulane should be able to scrape together enough points to hang within single-digits in this contest on Saturday.